Sources for Information on Veterans & Military Units

Sources for Information on Veterans & Military Units

An informal list compiled by Normandy Allies, Inc.

If you have additional suggestions for possible search sources, please forward the details to us at: Normandy Allies, Inc. PO Box 1332 Pittsford NY 14534 or let us know through our contact form.

A first step: gather all the information you have: Person’s name, date of birth, birthplace, service number, division/regiment/company, date and place of death, etc.

If you do not know the person’s service number, contact:

Military Reference Branch
National Archives
Washington DC 20408
www.nara.gov.regional/mpr.html
National Personnel Records Center
National Archives and Records Administration
9700 Page Blvd.
St. Louis MO 63132-5100
(314) 263-3901
www.nara.gov

There was a fire that destroyed many records, but it is worth taking a chance to see if they have anything.

National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park MD 20740-6001
Website: www.nara.gov

Form 180: Request Pertaining to Military Records

Booklets on methods of finding information:

    • Military Service Records in the National Archives of the United States
    • Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States
    • Guide to Geneological Research in the National Archives
    • Military Service Records, A Select Catalogue of National Archives Microfilm Publications

Information concerning military history of units during the war:

Department of the Army
The Chief of Military History
and the Center of Military History
Washington DC 20314
Contact for Military Services:

Websites:

National D-Day Memorial in Bedford VA: http://www.dday.org

An excellent place and person for research on the 29th Infantry Division: Joseph Balkoski, author of Beyond the Beachhead and Contact information:

Joseph Balkoski
E-Mail: 29division@gmail.com
Website: www.angelfire.com/md/29division/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/29Division
Phone: 443-564-4279

Websites:
In association with The History Channel, HistoryChannel.com has launched www.Veterans.com, an online community for veterans, family members, military buffs, and students.

Send us your postal address and the information you want and we will include your request for information in the next edition of the Normandy Allies newsletter, Amitié. We reserve the right to edit.

Publication address:
Marsha A. Smith, Editor
Normandy Allies, Inc.
PO Box 1332
Pittsford NY 14534

Normandy Allies maintains a page on our website: www.normandyallies.org for people to post inquiries concerning relatives, friends, etc. who served in Normandy in 1944. Send us as many details/photos/etc. as possible and we will include your request. We reserve the right to edit.
This material can be directed to the Website Manager.
Information on the 29th Division:

Visit their website: www.29thdivisionassociation.com

Search the 29th Division casualty list: http://www.haruth.com/29thCasualtyList.html

Contact the Editor of the 29th Division Association newsletter, The Twenty-Niner:
William Mund at wmundjr@yahoo.com
I suggest two general texts to begin with:

  • 29 Let’s Go by Joseph Ewing
  • Beyond the Beachhead by Joseph Balkoski

Then there are regimental histories, etc.

General history, World War II/Normandy landings. There are a number of books available including:
Stephen Ambrose, Citizen Soldier.

  • Astor, Gerald (compiled). June 6, 1944: The Voices of D-Day.
  • Blumenson, Martin. Breakout and Pursuit.
  • Carter, Walter. No Greater Sacrifice, No Greater Love: A Son’s Journey into Normandy.
  • D’Este, Carlo. Decision in Normandy.
  • Drez, Ronald J. Voices of D-Day: the Story of the Allied Invasion Told by Those Who Were There.
  • Gruhzit-Hoyt, Olga. They Also Served: American Women in World War II.
  • Johns, Glover S. The Clay Pigeons of Saint Lo.
  • Keegan, John. The Face of Battle.
  • The Normandy Diary of Marie-Louise Osmont: 1940-1944.
  • Six Armies in Normandy.

Information on the First Division:

First Division Museum at Cantigny
(1st Infantry Division, the Big Red One)
www.firstdivisionmuseum.org
Paul H. Herbert, Executive Director
1 S 151 Winfield Road
Wheaton, IL 60189
Tel. (630)-260-8225 / Fax. (630)-260-9298

To find a gravesite in an American Military cemetery:
American Battle Monuments Commission
2300 Claredon Blvd
Arlington VA 22201
(703) 696-6900
www.abmc.gov
Note: The Normandy Cemetery is in Colleville. The Brittany Cemetery is in St. James.
To find information on burial files or on the service branches:

US Total Army Personnel Agency
DAPC-PED-F
2461 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria VA 22331-0482

Office of the Air Force History
The Air University
Maxwell AFB
Montgomery AL 36112

Naval Historical Center
Operational Archives Branch
Building 57
Washington Navy Yard
Washington DC 20374

Commander
Naval Personnel Command
(N122E)
Bureau of Medicine
Washington DC 20374

Commandant
(GMVP 1-12)
United States Coast Guard
Washington DC 20593

Army Military Institute
Carlisle Barracks
Pennsylvania PA 17013
(maintains lists of Veterans Associations)

The Military Bookman
29 East 93rd Street
New York NY 10128
(Private library with many documents)